Invitation to Bid for Final Evaluation of EHF Funded Consortium Project. 46 views

1.     BACKGROUND

The recurrent drought, localized flooding, conflict and onset of pandemic such as cholera, measles and COVID-19, and the still significant humanitarian and recovery needs of Internally Displaced People (IDP), returnee and host community were the key challenges encountered in the country for the past three years (2018-2020). The 2017/18 severe food insecurity and wide-scale inter-ethnic clashes caused mass displacement of people, and threatened the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. The inter-communal violence had resulted for displacement of thousands of people, death and injuries of civilians in Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region (SNNPR), Benishangul-Gumuz, Somali and Amhara regions of Ethiopia. In addition, the continued weather variability resulted high land areas of Amhara, and low lands of Afar, Gambella and Somali areas to be affected and impacted by flood and drought in 2019/2020. In addition, health infrastructures were damaged due to the conflict and health care workers had left the places due to the continuous security challenges and were not in the position to provide lifesaving health care to the affected community. Moreover, the outbreaks of epidemic prone diseases related with cholera, measles and COVID-19 have continued to challenge and affect the people and already weakened health care system of the country. Cholera outbreak had been reported throughout 2019/2020 in the country. The Measles outbreak was one of the problem across different parts of the country, especially in remote and in accessible areas as well as conflict and drought affected woredas. Affected IDPs, returnees and host community were highly in need of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) assistance, safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities that meet minimum requirements for cooking, drinking, and bathing, and which ensure hygienic excreta disposal with safety, privacy and dignity.

To address immediate need and support of the displacement affected and vulnerable people in the country, the last two years (2019/20 and 2020/21) Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF) allocated budget for Save the Children, World Vision, Action Against Hunger and Norwegian Refugee Council (SWAN) project has significantly contributed for the continual implementation of life-saving integrated multi-sectoral responses in the country. The new top-up fund allocated for SWAN project (18 March 2020-17 March 2021) has been delivered with consortium approach of a contextually specific, coordinated joint response in consultation and approval of national clusters and Inter Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG). This has helped to undertake humanitarian assistance in timely manner, high quality, minimize beneficiary overlaps, standardize assistance packages and reach affected populations at scale in prioritized locations in addressing multiple, inter-related vulnerabilities whilst improving the overall coordination of all concerned local government institutions and non-state actors. SWAN project has focused and strived more significantly reducing the considerable delays in the timeliness and inefficiencies of humanitarian supplies from procurement to distribution in IDP related responses in the country through designing and following on a flexible, faster and proactive assessment and decision-making process; faster procurement lead times; efficient delivery; and improved data quality and reporting of humanitarian supplies for the last two years. The SWAN consortium has provided support to the government surge team, to make sure they are well prepared and are able to respond to disasters quickly and effectively. In general, SWAN project has contributed and allowed the country humanitarian supply pipeline management for a timely and efficient response to the needs as they emerge for the last two years.

SWAN project aimed to ensure a robust, flexible and proactive mechanism for timely mobilization of critical supplies (Non Food Items-NFIs, cash/in-kind, health, reproductive health, WASH) for ongoing nationally prioritized crises and based on the most likely scenario of anticipated similar crisis. The overarching goal of the project was to support the ongoing efforts of the Government of Ethiopia and affected communities to ensure that the lives, well-being and dignity of those affected by conflict are protected. The project has strived to address the needs of affected communities that have been identified by WASH, Emergency Shelter (ES) and NFI, and health sectors through consultations between Government, Clusters members and local actors. The project implemented immediate and lifesaving activities including access to safe water, establishment of sanitation facilities, support to health and nutrition services; averting pipeline breaks, responding to the shelter and other needs of IDPs, returnees and other affected communities. It was designed to provide swift and first line response both in multi-sectoral and sectoral integrated type of approach within the cluster system. SWAN provided the responses for ongoing nationally prioritised crises and based on the most likely scenario of anticipated similar crisis in consultation and approval of the national clusters and ICCG. The needs of affected communities were identified by the sectors through consultations between Government, Clusters members and local actors.

Under the fund secured from EHF, Save the Children Ethiopia in consortium with World Vision, Action Against Hunger and Norwegian Refugee Council (SWAN) had implemented “Multi-sectoral Integrated Responses in WASH, Health and ES and NFI” project for displacement affected and vulnerable people in Addis Ababa city administration, SNNP, Oromia, Somali, Afar, Tigray, Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz and Amhara Regions from 18 March 2020-17 March 2021. SWAN project focused on WASH, ES and NFI and Health sectors or thematic areas. SWAN project allocated budget is $ 3,000,000. The project interventions have addressed the humanitarian and recovery needs of IDPs, returnees and host communities who were affected by recurrent drought, conflict, localized flooding, cholera and COVID-19 epidemics with multi-sectoral joint coordinated responses of WASH, ES and NFI, and health sectoral interventions. The project has enabled target beneficiaries to get access safe, appropriate and critical hygiene kits or WASH NFIs, drinking water, ES NFIs, and essential health and reproductive health services to affected population. This is realized through implementing an immediate and lifesaving multi-sectoral responses or activities including provision of access to safe water, establishment of sanitation facilities, support to health and nutrition services; averting pipeline breaks, responding to the shelter and other needs of IDPs, returnees and affected communities in the country. The selection criteria used to provide emergency assistances and services are coherent and adhere with humanitarian principles. The project consortium partners in collaboration with local government and community leaders establish registration and targeting committee. This committee comprises of people represented from concerned Kebele administration, woreda government offices (from administration, DRM, health and water and energy offices), IDP or returnee representatives from all groups, community leaders (men and women), elders, religious leaders, youth representatives and the service provider organization representatives. The committee members develop and agreed on targeting and registration mechanisms among the affected population (including representatives of vulnerable groups) and other appropriate actors. In certain cases, where there are critical needs within the non-displaced host community, agencies agree to provide assistance in line with the agreed criteria and with limited percent of the total assistance being made available within that area. The committee set clear selection criteria and use standard beneficiary selection and verification tools to identify the most needed people. The selection criteria used includes most vulnerable households affected by displacement, people who have special vulnerabilities (women headed households, child headed households, people with different disabilities, elderly, pregnant and lactating women), households who are at high risk as a result of internal displacements.  The criteria and verification processes followed has helped to ensure the right targets and needy beneficiaries are included in the support, and minimize exclusion and inclusion error.

The new SWAN, which is the top-up of the last year EHF supported project has targeted to reach 1,140,800 affected people (147,132 men, 617,127 women, 205,146 boys and 171,395 girls) in WASH, ES NFI and health multi-sectoral responses in Addis Ababa city administration, SNNP, Oromia, Somali, Afar, Gambella, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz and Tigray Regions. The estimated number of beneficiaries to be reached by sectors includes 1,062,303 in health, 27,784 in ES and NFI, and 50,713 individuals in WASH during the project period of 18 March 2020 to 17 March 2021. Until the end of October 2020 SWAN project has total reached 833,789 people or individuals (118,016 men, 413,009 women, 163,611 boys and 139,153 girls) as flood, conflict, cholera and COVID-19 responses in Somali, Oromia, SNNP, Afar, Gambella Amhara Regions and Addis Ababa city administration. Among the total individuals reached by the project; 225,507 people, 25,673 people and 582,609 people were reached in WASH, ES NFI and health responses respectively. WASH responses have strived towards provision safe drinking water and life-saving WASH NFIs. The WASH sector interventions includes provision of WASH NFI or hygiene kits, water supply through emergency water trucking, rehabilitation and maintenance, quick fix of non-functional water schemes, provision of High Test Hypochlorite (HTH) chlorine (70%) (Calcium hypochlorite), water storage tankers and social mobilization and hygiene promotion activities. Life-saving ES NFI responses are provided to protect and improve their living conditions and the capacity for self-recovery of IDPs and affected people through cash and in kind type of modality.  The health sector focus on provision accessible essential health services to affected populations, focusing on main causes of morbidity and mortality, including SRH. Training of health staff on epidemic case management, Rapid Response Team (RRT) and Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) support in diseases surveillances, case management, public education, environmental sanitation and hygiene programs, and timely provision of lifesaving essential medicines and medical supplies such as Interagency Emergency Health Kit (IEHK), Emergency Reproductive Health (ERH) and other kits for government health facilities to further strengthen access to basic preventative and curative health care services.

SWAN consortium project will be closed on 17th of March 2021. Hence, the consortium partners have planned to conduct final evaluation survey in the project implementation areas. The final evaluation will examine the results and outcomes of the humanitarian multi-sectoral responses in relation with the indicated strategic objectives of EHF and clusters priorities, and governance and management, cost-benefit or value for money analysis, gender, protection and other cross-cutting issues, and complementarity with other response mechanisms. The outcome of this final evaluation survey is envisaged to enable consortium partners to compare and measure results with indicated indicators for the project outcome and impact, draw lessons on what has worked well and identify challenges to the delivery of responses and functioning of the SWAN consortium in providing timely, coordinated, and sustainable response to affected IDPs, returnees and host communities.

As a consortium lead, as well as the lead of the MEAL Technical Working Group (TWG), SCI will lead the final evaluation survey in collaboration with consortium partners.  The evaluation will be done by selected well experienced, appropriate and eligible external consultant or firms. SWAN project didn’t conduct baseline surveys and baseline figures were not set using the findings of the survey.  However, it is possible to use certain the findings from the last year end-line survey evaluation survey carried out internally by the consortium. The external consultant will conduct the evaluation covering the period between 18 March 2020 and 17 March 2021. The entire processes of the final evaluation (evaluating applicants, awarding, inception report, organizing team and field data collectors, training, data collection, data analysis and reporting) will be carried out from mid of December 2019 up to end of March 2020.